The game of golf is one of the most popular pastimes of the American public, and has been for some time. It is popular in many other parts of the world as well, and may, in fact, be the most popular sport in the world, being played with substantially the same rules everywhere.
The game requires for its use a large number of clubs, with an absolute maximum, of nine irons, four woods, and a putter. Players usually use their own clubs, in accordance with the rules of the Professional Golf Association. These are generally personally selected in accordance with the golfer""s individual preferences, and the clubs are kept in specially designed golf bags, in which the clubs are stored and transported.
These golf bags are generally sufficiently large that there is insufficient space in a typical American sedan for a foursomexe2x80x9d (four players) to travel to a golf course with their four golf bags. The golf bags are simply too large for four of them to fit in the trunk, or boot, and there is insufficient space in the passenger compartment for the players and the golf bags.
In addition, some vehicles, such as two-seated sports cars, do no have space sufficient for two passengers and two golf bags. This is especially true of some sports cars, such as the Mercedes-Benz Model SLK-320, which takes up most of the available space in the trunk (boot) with a removeably hard top.
The present invention solves this problem by means of a reconfigurable golf bag, which may be transported in the form of a traditional golf bag, as a substantially flat sheet, containing the clubs, or in a cylindrical shape, similar to the traditional form, but having a drastically reduced diameter, permitting several golf bags to be stacked in the space formerly required for a single bag.
The prior art discloses several similar inventions. U.S. Pat. No. 6,286,673 describes a golf bag which is made up of a number of rigid tubes, disposed along a flat sheet, which may be rolled up into a cylindrical form and retained in that position. However, U.S. Pat. No. 6,286,673 does not provide for configuring the bag in a reduced diameter form, nor does it provide the insulated hood for protecting the club heads while transporting them. Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 6,286,673 requires the tubes from which the carrier is constructed to be at least semirigid, lest the structure collapse when rolled up, rather than remaining in the cylindrical shape as shown.
The present invention uses a semi-rigid material as the body of the bag, thus providing support for the structure from the outside, rather than relying on the internal tubes of the prior art for structural support. Furthermore, the present invention allows the bag to be rolled up into the shape of a cylinder with a reduced diameter, snugly enclosing the clubs so that they cannot slide out of the bag, and thereby preventing them from clashing against the other clubs, protecting them during transportation in this manner.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a multi-function golf bag which can be used both for holding the golfer""s clubs while playing golf, and for transporting the clubs to and from the golf course. It is a further object of the invention to provide such a golf bag having one or more reduced-size configurations which allow the transportation and storage in places of limited storage space.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the golf bag includes a body made of a sheet of firm, compliant material having an inner surface and an outer surface, a top, a bottom, a first edge, and a second edge. Fasteners are used for attaching the inner surface to the outer surface at two or more places, and the body is rolled into a cylinder, with the fasteners used to maintain the body in said cylindrical shape. The body may be alternatively rolled into a second cylindrical shape, having a second diameter, smaller than the first, which securely retains the clubs within when wrapped in this fashion.
In accordance with a second aspect of the invention, the fasteners are hook and loop fasteners.
In accordance with a third aspect of the invention, a multiplicity of golf club pockets is attached to the inner surface of the body and one or more golf clubs are placed within each golf club pocket,ln accordance with a fourth aspect of the invention, a flexible golf-bag bottom is removeably attachable to the body.
In accordance with a fifth aspect of the invention, a flexible ball tube is included, disposed in parallel to the golf club pockets, into which golf balls may be inserted and removed.
In accordance with a sixth aspect of the invention, a removable hood is included, made of a sheet of flexible material having a top, a bottom, and two sides. The top of the hood is attached to the top of the body in one region of the body, the bottom of the hood is attached to the top of the body in a second region of the body.
In accordance with a seventh aspect of the invention, a club-head protector located approximately midway between the hood top and hood bottom, so that when the hood affixed to the body when the body is in a substantially flat configuration, the club-head protector will align and at least partially surround the golf club heads.